首页 >出版文学> An Introduction to the Study of Robert Browning’s>第43章
  ”St——St,”he’dwhisper,”theCorregidor!”[90]IhadbeenusedtothinkthatpersonageWasonewithlacqueredbreeches,lustrousbelt,Andfeatherslikeaforestinhishat,Whoblewatrumpetandproclaimedthenews,Announcedthebull-fights,gaveeachchurchitsturn,Andmemorizedthemiracleinvogue!
  Hehadagreatobservancefromusboys;
  Wewereinerror;thatwasnottheman。
  I’dlikenow,yethadhaplybeenafraid,Tohavejustlooked,whenthismancametodie,[100]
  Andseenwholinedthecleangaygarretsides,Andstoodabouttheneatlowtruckle-bed,Withtheheavenlymannerofrelievingguard。
  Herehadbeen,mark,thegeneral-in-chief,Thro’awholecampaignoftheworld’slifeanddeath,DoingtheKing’sworkallthedimdaylong,Inhisoldcoatanduptokneesinmud,Smokedlikeaherring,diningonacrust,——
  And,nowthedaywaswon,relievedatonce!
  Nofurthershoworneedofthatoldcoat,[110]
  Youaresure,foronething!Blessus,allthewhileHowsprucelywearedressedout,youandI!
  Asecond,andtheangelsalterthat。
  Well,Icouldneverwriteaverse,——couldyou?
  Let’stothePradoandmakethemostoftime。”Transcendentalism”:
  APoeminTwelveBooks——
  *Transcendentalism:apoemintwelvebooks。Itmustbeunderstoodthatthepoetaddressedhaswrittenalongpoemunderthistitle,andabrother-poet,whileadmittingthatitcontains”truethoughts,goodthoughts,thoughtsfittotreasureup”,raisestheobjectionthattheyarenaked,insteadofbeingdraped,astheyshouldbe,insightsandsounds——
  Stopplaying,poet!Mayabrotherspeak?
  ’Tisyouspeak,that’syourerror。Song’sourart:
  WhereasyoupleasetospeakthesenakedthoughtsInsteadofdrapingtheminsightsandsounds——
  Truethoughts,goodthoughts,thoughtsfittotreasureup!
  Butwhysuchlongprolusionanddisplay,Suchturningandadjustmentoftheharp,Andtakingituponyourbreast,atlength,Onlytospeakdrywordsacrossitsstrings?
  Stark-nakedthoughtisinrequestenough:[10]
  SpeakproseandholloittillEuropehears!
  Thesix-footSwisstube,bracedaboutwithbark,Whichhelpsthehunter’svoicefromAlptoAlp——
  Exchangeourharpforthat,——whohindersyou?
  Buthere’syourfault;grownmenwantthought,youthink;
  Thought’swhattheymeanbyverse,andseekinverse;
  Boysseekforimagesandmelody,Menmusthavereason——so,youaimatmen。
  Quiteotherwise!Objectsthrongouryouth,’tistrue;
  Weseeandhearanddonotwondermuch:[20]
  Ifyoucouldtelluswhattheymean,indeed!
  AsGermanBoehmenevercaredforplantsUntilithapped,a-walkinginthefields,Henoticedallatoncethatplantscouldspeak,Nay,turnedwithloosenedtonguetotalkwithhim。
  Thatdaythedaisyhadaneyeindeed——
  Colloquizedwiththecowsliponsuchthemes!
  WefindthemextantyetinJacob’sprose。
  ButbythetimeyouthslipsastageortwoWhilereadingproseinthattoughbookhewrote,[30]
  CollatingandemendatingthesameAndsettlingonthesensemosttoourmind
  Weshuttheclaspsandfindlife’ssummerpast。
  Then,whohelpsmore,pray,torepairourloss——
  AnotherBoehmewithatougherbookAndsubtlermeaningsofwhatrosessay,——
  OrsomestoutMagelikehimofHalberstadt,John,whomadethingsBoehmewrotethoughtsabout?
  Hewitha”lookyou!”ventsabraceofrhymes,Andintherebreaksthesuddenroseherself,[40]
  Overus,under,rounduseveryside,Nay,inandoutthetablesandthechairsAndmustyvolumes,Boehme’sbookandall,——
  Buriesuswithaglory,youngoncemore,Pouringheavenintothisshuthouseoflife。
  Socome,theharpbacktoyourheartagain!
  Youareapoem,thoughyourpoem’snaught。
  Thebestofallyoushowedbefore,believe,Wasyourownboy-faceo’erthefinerchordsBent,followingthecherubatthetop[50]
  ThatpointstoGodwithhispairedhalf-moonwings——
  22。GermanBoehme:JacobBoehmeorBehmen,ashoemakerandafamoustheosophist,b。1575,atOldSeidenberg,avillagenearGoerlitz;d。1624。The24thverseofthepoem,”Henoticedallatoncethatplantscouldspeak”,mayrefertoaremarkableexperienceofBoehme,relatedinDr。HansLassenMartensen’s`JacobBoehme:hislifeandteaching,orstudiesintheosophy:
  translatedfromtheDanishbyT。RhysEvans’,London,1885:”Sittingonedayinhisroom,hiseyefelluponaburnishedpewterdish,whichreflectedthesunshinewithsuchmarvelloussplendorthathefellintoaninwardecstasy,anditseemedtohimasifhecouldnowlookintotheprinciplesanddeepestfoundationsofthings。
  Hebelievedthatitwasonlyafancy,andinordertobanishitfromhismindhewentoutuponthegreen。Buthereheremarkedthathegazedintotheveryheartofthings,theveryherbsandgrass,andthatactualnatureharmonizedwithwhathehadinwardlyseen。”
  Martensen,inhisbiography,followsthatbyFrankenberg,inwhichtheexperiencemaybegivenmoreindetail。
  37-40。himofHalberstadt,John:”ItisnotathinkerlikeBoehme,whowillcompensateusforthelostsummerofourlife;butamagicianlikeJohnofHalberstadt,whocan,atanymoment,conjurerosesup。””The`magic’symbolized,isthatofgenuinepoetry;butthemagician,or`Mage’,isanhistoricalperson;andthespecialfeatimputedtohimwasrecordedofothermagiciansintheMiddleAges,ifnotofhimself。
  `JohannesTeutonicus,acanonofHalberstadhtinGermany,afterhehadperformedanumberofprestigiousfeatsalmostincredible,wastransportedbytheDevilinthelikenessofablackhorse,andwasbothseenandheardupononeandthesameChristmasday,tosaymassinHalberstadht,inMayntz,andinCologne’
  `Heywood’sHierarchy’,Bk。IV。,p。253。The`prestigiousfeat’
  ofcausingflowerstoappearinwinter,wasacommonone。”——
  Mrs。SutherlandOrr’s`HandbooktotheworksofRobertBrowning’,p。209。
  Itmaybesaidthattheadvicegiveninthispoem,Browninghasnotsufficientlyfollowedinhisownpoetry。Onthispoint,awriterinthe`BritishQuarterlyReview’Vol。23,p。162justlyremarks:”Browning’sthoughtisalwaysthatofapoet。Subtle,nimble,andpowerfulasistheintellect,andvariousasisthelearning,allismanifestedthroughtheimagination,andcomesforthshapedandtintedbyit。Thus,evenintheforegoingpassages[citedfrom`Transcendentalism’and`BishopBlougram’sApology’],wherethematterisalmostaspurelyasitcanbetheproduceofthemereunderstanding,itisstillevidentthatthemethodofthethoughtispoetic。Thenotionstaketheformofimages。
  Forexample,thepoetmeanstosaythatProseisagoodandmightyvehicleinitsway,butthatitisnotPoetry;
  andhowdoestheconceptionshapeitselfinhismind?Why,inanimage。AllatonceitisnotProsethatisthoughtabout,butahugesix-footspeaking-trumpetbracedroundwithbark,throughwhichtheSwisshuntershelptheirvoicesfromAlptoAlp——
  Poetry,ontheotherhand,beingnosuchbigandblaringinstrument,butaharptakentothebreastofyouthandsweptbyecstaticfingers。
  AndsowiththeimagesofBoehmeandhisbook,andJohnofHalberstadtwithhismagicrose——stillaconcretebodytoenshrineanabstractmeaning。”
  ApparentFailure。”Weshallsoonloseacelebratedbuilding。”——ParisNewspaper。
  1。
  No,forI’llsaveit!Sevenyearssince,IpassedthroughParis,stoppedadayToseethebaptismofyourPrince;
  Saw,mademybow,andwentmyway:
  Walkingtheheatandheadacheoff,ItooktheSeine-side,yousurmise,ThoughtoftheCongress,Gortschakoff,Cavour’sappealandBuol’sreplies,Sosaunteredtill——whatmetmyeyes?——
  St。1。ToseethebaptismofyourPrince:thePrinceImperial,sonofNapoleonIII。andtheEmpressEugenie,bornMarch16,1856。
  theCongress:theCongressofParis。
  Gortschakoff:PrinceAlexanderMichaelowitschGortschakoff;
  whilerepresentingRussiaattheCourtofVienna,hekeptAustrianeutralduringtheCrimeanWar。
  Cavour:CountCamilloBensodiCavour,Italianstatesman,b。1810;
  attheCongressofParis,broughtforwardthequestionofthepoliticalconsolidationofItaly,whichledtotheinvasionofItalybytheAustrians,whoweredefeated;d。6thJune,1861。
  Buol:KarlFerdinandvonBuol-Schauenstein,Austriandiplomatist,andministerofforeignaffairsfrom1852to1859。
  2。
  OnlytheDoriclittleMorgue!
  Thedead-housewhereyoushowyourdrowned:
  Petrarch’sVauclusemakesproudtheSorgue,YourMorguehasmadetheSeinerenowned。
  Onepaysone’sdebtinsuchacase;
  Ipluckedupheartandentered,——stalked,KeepingatolerablefaceComparedwithsomewhosecheekswerechalked:
  Letthem!NoBriton’stobebalked!——
  St。2。Petrarch’sVauclusemakesproudtheSorgue:
  FontainedeVaucluse,acelebratedfountain,inthedepartmentofVaucluse,inSouthernFrance,thesourceoftheSorgues。
  ThevillagenamedafteritwasforsometimetheresidenceofPetrarch。
  3。
  Firstcamethesilentgazers;next,Ascreenofglass,we’rethankfulfor;
  Last,thesight’sself,thesermon’stext,ThethreemenwhodidmostabhorTheirlifeinParisyesterday,Sokilledthemselves:andnow,enthronedEachonhiscoppercouch,theylayFrontingme,waitingtobeowned。
  Ithought,andthink,theirsin’satoned。
  4。
  Poormen,Godmade,andallforthat!
  Thereverencestruckme;o’ereachheadReligiouslywashungitshat,Eachcoatdrippedbytheowner’sbed,Sacredfromtouch:eachhadhisberth,Hisbounds,hisproperplaceofrest,WholastnighttenantedonearthSomearch,wheretwelvesuchsleptabreast,——
  Unlesstheplainasphalteseemedbest。
  5。
  Howdidithappen,mypoorboy?
  YouwantedtobeBuonaparteAndhavetheTuileriesfortoy,Andcouldnot,soitbrokeyourheart?
  You,oldonebyhisside,Ijudge,Were,redasblood,asocialist,Aleveller!DoestheEmpiregrudgeYou’vegainedwhatnoRepublicmissed?
  Bequiet,andunclinchyourfist!
  6。
  Andthis——why,hewasredinvain,Orblack,——poorfellowthatisblue!
  Whatfancywasit,turnedyourbrain?
  Oh,womenweretheprizeforyou!
  Moneygetswomen,cardsanddiceGetmoney,andill-luckgetsjustThecoppercouchandoneclearniceCoolsquirtofwatero’eryourbust,Therightthingtoextinguishlust!